1
as in democratic
of, relating to, or favoring political democracy
having rid itself of the yoke of colonialism, the new nation chose to be a self-ruling state
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in independent
not being under the rule or control of another
was granted special status as a self-ruling province
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Recent Examples of self-ruling
Not only that, but Greenland, a self-ruling territory of Denmark, lacks the infrastructure and manpower required to make this mining dream a reality.
—
Matt Egan, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Like Assad before him, Sharaa now faces complex negotiations toward bringing these self-ruling territories under his command.
—Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
The dispute began when Takaichi, who was elected last month, told lawmakers that a hypothetical Chinese attack on self-ruling Taiwan, which at its closest point is about 70 miles from Japanese territory, could threaten Japan’s survival and trigger a military response from Tokyo.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 25 Nov. 2025
In recent years, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan – a self-ruling democracy the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own despite having never governed it.
—Eric Cheung, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023
In a meeting earlier with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Raisi expressed support for China's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and claim to self-ruling democratic Taiwan.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2023
Matt Egan, CNN Money, 12 Jan. 2026
Like Assad before him, Sharaa now faces complex negotiations toward bringing these self-ruling territories under his command.
—Tom O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
The dispute began when Takaichi, who was elected last month, told lawmakers that a hypothetical Chinese attack on self-ruling Taiwan, which at its closest point is about 70 miles from Japanese territory, could threaten Japan’s survival and trigger a military response from Tokyo.
—Peter Guo, NBC news, 25 Nov. 2025
In recent years, Beijing has ramped up economic, diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan – a self-ruling democracy the Chinese Communist Party claims as its own despite having never governed it.
—Eric Cheung, CNN, 13 Mar. 2023
In a meeting earlier with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Raisi expressed support for China's crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong and claim to self-ruling democratic Taiwan.
—Bradford Betz, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-ruling
Adjective
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The event also commemorated roughly 100 protesters who were killed in February 2014 during Ukraine’s Revolution of Dignity, a pro-Western uprising to thwart Russian influence on the fledgling democratic nation.—
Angie Leventis Lourgos,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
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But Indra Hang Subba, a parliamentary legislator from Sikkim, says such delays are inherent to India's democratic system.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
17 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Without a letter denoting a political party next to their name on the ballot, independent candidates have historically gotten lost in the mix.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
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The merger underscores the challenging marketplace for independent studios.—
Lucas Shaw,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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After OpenAI published some of the terms of the contract on Saturday, many outside observers immediately questioned how the redlines on autonomous weapons and mass surveillance would actually be upheld, with some saying the language would still allow the safeguards to be disregarded.—
Hadas Gold,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
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The conflict centered around Anthropic's push for guardrails that would explicitly prevent the military from using Claude to conduct mass surveillance on Americans or to power fully autonomous weapons.—
Camilla Schick,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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In the aftermath, China has responded with anger – condemning the capture or killing of a sovereign leader and the apparent US attempt at regime change while reaching out to Iran express its friendship.—
John Liu,
CNN Money,
4 Mar. 2026
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Bankers are positioning the video-game giant as an entertainment play rather than one about software, and leaning on the role of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, with its sovereign backing, for a higher credit rating, people familiar with the marketing effort said.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Not long after the festival, the band went their separate ways.—
Cerys Davies,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
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The stock rebounded after a separate filing Monday showed controlling shareholders plan to increase their stakes through open-market purchases.—
Shirley Zhao,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Self-ruling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-ruling. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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